because good research needs good data

Engaging researchers with RDM services

Jonathan RansDigital Curation Centre

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 UK: Scotland License.

Common issues

Image CC-BY-ND ‘A thorny issue’ by Neville Nel www.flickr.com/photos/nevilleslens/15551236112

Build it they will come?

Various papers question success of institutional repositories

Lots of use of third-party services

Offer poor tailoring to user needs

Low use of university services

Results from 2016 DAF surveys

www.slideshare.net/JiscRDM/daf-survey-results-research-data-network

Need to listen and respond to user needs

“Please, individualise the support. Workshops are useless, emails with

information are useless, brochures are useless, posters are useless.”

Quote from 2016 DAF survey results

Tailor arguments to audience

What will drive one group to act could cause another to disengage

Top down

Compliance driven

Firm mandates

Single solution

Image CC-BY-NC-ND ‘Angry’ by Justin www.flickr.com/photos/jp3g/6238543889

Researchers respond to benefits

http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.154352

Engaging researchers

Image CC-BY-SA by Dawn Manser www.flickr.com/photos/dawnmanser/3532598208

Advice from Cambridge Uni

Be collaborative and encourage co-ownership

Build trust by understanding researchers’ challenges

Never dismiss - be open to all questions

Focus on what you’re asking and why to avoid wasting time

Empower researchers to shape service delivery

https://zenodo.org/record/154352#.WH-ETlOLSUk

Researcher-led RDM services

Critical role in providing requirements

Researchers co-designing and testing services

Senior academics leading working groups to ensure services are fit-for-purpose and get adoption

Useful to have a senior academics in your corner –hold sway with other researchers and influential in university decision-making processes

Jisc co-design approach

Developing a research data shared service

15 pilot institutions feeding in requirements and testing services

Several external contractors to deliver services and broker sector-wide deals

www.jisc.ac.uk/rd/projects/research-data-shared-service

A democratic, open approach

RDM champions or community leaders

How to make the most of early adopters / advocates?

Several UK unis establishing RDM champions programmes» Network of local data experts who can support colleagues in their discipline

» Agreed responsibilities e.g. deliver disciplinary training

» Acting as a catalyst for ideas and change

Others developing a data community, network or data forum» Enables exchange of ideas and engagement with colleagues

» Recognising those who have embraced RDM

» Discuss issues/opportunities of RDM and put forward recommendations

https://gitter.im/rdm-discussions/champions

Don’t think the job is done

Repeat requirements gathering and gap analysis

Know your user community

Continual advocacy, awareness raising, training…

Monitor trends / changes in landscape

» More open data policies

» Transition to FAIR data

What is success?

Measure impact, not just usage stats. Focus on a relationship with services

and what you help users to accomplish

Suggestions for data supporters

Learn from researchers: » Why do they prefer one service to another? “I’m used to it”

is a common answer, but is it enough?

» Do you have an “embedded researcher”? (Wageningen University)

» Researchers embedded in library roles – CLIR fellowship

» Can service-savvy researchers act as ambassadors/multipliers/guinea pigs in a pilot study/ … ?

» Use non-standard services as a way of recruiting researchers for case studies – University of Amsterdam

Engagement driving services

You don’t need to have a full overview of available services, but » you want to have an understanding of what’s current

» You want to know which problems a service can solve. And when your institute is lucky enough not to have those problems, the service may not be urgent for you…

» You want to have some personal (and hopefully institutional) preferences: why do you prefer Zenodo to B2Share, for instance?

Information management: which questions did you get (and answer) last year, and how do they drive your service development?

Sharing responsibility

Scoping and stakeholders: why should the library/IT department be responsible for providing service XYZ, when XYZ is very discipline-specific?» Share/divide responsibilities» And if you do provide that service, make the costs visible

And why should your library/IT department …?» Visit the neighbours and benefit from their lessons learned » Which expertise and services are or can be provided nationally or

disciplinary

http://datasupport.researchdata.nl/en/start-de-cursus/vi-data-support/vraag-en-aanbod

Responding to researchers’ concerns

Thanks for listening!

DCC guidance, tools and case studies:www.dcc.ac.uk/resources

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